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Planning

Use these questions to clarify your proposed plan for this ministry.

1. What is your vision for the future of the ministry?

• Where do you see this ministry headed? List some things you believe could happen if things go well. Make sure these things flow from your mission statement.

2. How would you measure success with this ministry?

• List all possible factors that would indicate success such as personal growth, conversions, needy people helped, etc. Include objective criteria which contributes to the success.

3. What are the keys to making this ministry work? What are the critical variables?

• Critical variables are issues in this ministry that could affect the ministry positively or negatively, for instance, availability of money, certain types of people, timing issues, etc. There may be key near-term goals you have to attain in order to accomplish your final mission.

4. What are the biggest threats to the success of the ministry?

• List all external and internal threats to this ministry, other than the obvious ones like the world, the flesh, and the devil.

5. List your top four goals for the first year of operation.

a.

b.

c.

d.

• Goals should be agreed on by your leadership, written out in less than 250 words, reread often and evaluated to see if your behavior is matching up to your goals. Describe them in the following ways:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Trackable

6. Using the list of active workers (section III, 6.), list the different types of roles needed in this ministry; try to specify how many workers are needed in each role. (You will later be filling out more detailed descriptions on these roles from Ministry NetWorking.) Use the following keys to rate the training and experience you will require for each position:

Training:

1 = None

2 = NetWorking

3 = NetWorking & college

4 = Very Educated

5 = Seminary

Experience:

1 = None

2 = Little

3 = Some

4 = Substantial

5 = Much Proven Ability

• Roles: List the different ministry positions needed and how many people are needed for each position. Start by transferring the information on page 36.
• This part is creative. Just consider the different kinds of roles you will need people to play in the ministry. Each role may describe a number of people. Then make up a name for the role (e.g. "contact worker") and a description of what people in this role might do. Then, for each position, specify the following:
• Availability: List the days and time required for this position.
• Gifting: Suggest which spiritual gifts might be needed for each role. Use the following list of definitions as needed. This is not an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts, but this list matches up with the Assessments from the Ministry Networking
• Administration: The divine enablement to understand what makes an organization function, and the special ability to plan and execute procedures that increase the church's organizational effectiveness.
• Apostleship: The divine enablement to start churches and oversee their development.
• Counseling: The divine enablement to effectively listen to people and assist them in their quests for psychological and relationship wholeness.
• Craftsmanship: The divine enablement to facilitate ministry through the creative construction of necessary tools for ministry.
• Creative Communication: The divine enablement to communicate God's truth through a variety of art forms.
• Discernment: The divine enablement to distinguish between truth and error and to identify deception in character and relationships.
• Encouragement: The divine enablement to reassure, strengthen, and affirm those who are discouraged or wavering in their faith.
• Evangelism: The divine enablement to effectively communicate the message of Christ to unbeliever so they can respond in faith and move toward discipleship.
• Faith: The divine enablement to trust God's will and act on it with an unwavering belief in His ability.
• Giving: The divine enablement to contribute money and material resources to the work of the Lord with cheerfulness and liberality.
• Healing: The divine enablement to be God's channel to restore people to health.
• Helps: The divine enablement to attach spiritual value to the accomplishment of practical and necessary tasks which support the body of Christ.
• Hospitality: The divine enablement to care for people by providing fellowship, food, or shelter.
• Interpretation: The divine enablement to make known to the body of the message of one who is speaking in tongues.
• Knowledge: The divine enablement to accumulate and analyze information effectively.
• Leadership: The divine enablement to instill vision, to motivate, and to direct people to accomplish the work of ministry.
• Mercy: The divine enablement to minister cheerfully and appropriately to people who are suffering.
• Miracles: The divine enablement to obtain exceptional interventions of God's power that glorify Him and give evidence of His grace.
• Prophecy: The divine enablement to proclaim God's truth with power and clarity in a timely and culturally sensitive fashion for correction, repentance, or edification.
• Shepherding: The divine enablement to guide, care for, and nurture individuals or groups in the body of Christ as they grow in their faith.
• Teaching: The divine enablement to understand, clearly explain, and apply the Word of God to the lives of the listener.
• Tongues: The divine enablement to speak with unintelligible utterances.
• Wisdom: The divine enablement to apply spiritual knowledge effectively.
• Experience: Assign to each ministry position the minimum amount of experience needed. Transfer information on page 36.

• Training: Assign to each ministry position the minimum amount of training needed utilizing the key on page 35. Transfer information on page 36.

7. Would you like to have more personnel involved in the ministry at this time if they were qualified?

• Could you use more help with your present ministry? Do you see many or only a few people joining your effort in the next year?

8. Can you see where there might be a role for many others in the future of this ministry?

• [This question points to how much vision the leader has for the ministry. It encourages the planner to think big about future possibilities.]

9. Which of the five Xenos Divisions do you think this ministry would be in?

Evangelism
Service Ministries
Operations
Equipping
Pastoral Ministries

If questionable, comment:

• 9. Examine the following Mission Statements for each of the Divisions, and indicate which one sounds like it includes your ministry.

Mission Statements

EVANGELISM

The mission of the Evangelism Division is to administrate an effective witness for Christ in greater Columbus, in other cities in the United States, and to unreached people groups throughout the world. This mission will be accomplished by providing structures that will help facilitate Xenos Christian Fellowship members in their attempts to reach those alienated from God in Central Ohio, mobilizing all Xenos Christian Fellowship members to carry out their specific roles in the evangelistic task, and administrating Xenos Christian Fellowship extra local evangelistic projects, including cross-cultural missions work.

SERVICE

The mission of the Service Division is to meet practical needs within Xenos, the community, and the Body of Christ at large. This mission is accomplished by creating and administering in-house service ministries, devising and carrying out strategies for community development, and building working relationships within the public, including other churches.

OPERATIONS

The mission of the Operations Division is to facilitate the ministries conducted by the other Xenos Christian Fellowship Divisions. This mission is accomplished by providing the other Divisions with timely, accurate financial and statistical data, human resources support, clean and comfortable facilities, and professional administrative support.

EQUIPPING

The mission of the Equipping Division is to provide the educational resources necessary for each member to understand and apply biblical truth to themselves and to the ministry of Xenos Christian Fellowship. This purpose is accomplished by offering diverse approaches to adult education, providing information resources, developing programs for training leaders and workers, and facilitating the development of new and existing ministries.

PASTORAL

The mission of the Pastoral Division is to assist Xenos members in drawing close to God by providing Christian community and spiritual care for them and their families. This mission is accomplished by providing home fellowship groups, various ministries that strengthen family life, Christian education for children, a large meeting for corporate worship and fellowship, and counseling and support to members in time of need.

10. Are the leaders and workers prepared to undergo Ministry Networking assessment?

• This means that they would be willing to go through the Ministry Preparation course, the Networking Seminar, and Network Consultation (approximately 3 months of work). [At the time the accreditation process was introduced, we wanted to urge people to take our networking seminar. Now, the seminar is part of the Christian principles series.]

11. How would this ministry relate to small groups, fellowship groups, and home churches? Would you hold for requirements in this area for incoming workers? Why?

• In the terminology we are using in Xenos' ministry structure, ministry teams are task-oriented groups while small groups and many home churches are relational (fellowship) groups. Will you require individuals to be involved in a fellowship group as well as the task-oriented group? If so, which positions would be required and which would not? (i.e. What positions do you believe require the kind of relational accountability that fellowship groups permit?)
• Would the workers who have gone through Networking but prefer to also continue involvement with their home church or small group, have the necessary time to commit to your ministry? [These are points of negotiation which can vary for different ministries.]

12. If needed, will you or someone in your leadership team be willing to lead a team fellowship group for workers in your ministry team?

Team Fellowship Groups are designed to provide Christian fellowship and spiritual nurture for workers in Xenos ministry teams. Leaders will be providing basic pastoral care and encouragement to group members.

13. If your ministry team doesn't plan on providing a Fellowship Group, what is your plan for assuring that people coming into your ministry team will have adequate fellowship?

• [The planner must have thought through how the personal lives of participants will be nurtured.]

14. Do you anticipate any needs for funding for this ministry? If so, give the types of things that may need support and rough estimates. If you are unable to estimate the costs, we will provide help later. For now, just be sure to list any likely expenses.

For example: building use, need for a phone, secretarial help, bookkeeping, copying costs, etc.

• Include startup costs and any ongoing costs. These are rough estimates. Exact figures will be sought later. Don't look to the church for money unless necessary, but if you need funding, ask for it.

15. Do you plan to generate any income from this ministry? If so, please explain.

• Include money from fund raisers, classes, seminars, etc.

16. If people on your ministry team win others to Christ, how will they relate to the rest of the fellowship--Central Teaching, Christian Principles Classes/Groups, Ministry Networking, Christian Community Meeting? Will they stay in your group for a period of time, and then be assessed for moving on? Or will they be assessed and return to your group as a worker? How long would they stay in your group, and how will this be decided?

• Think through how you will work with new converts from pre-conversion until they have been grounded in Christian Principles classes or groups, and then all the way through the Ministry Networking process.
• If qualified personnel are present, an Evangelism Ministry Team can provide their own grounding program, similar to Christian Principles Classes. Since an Evangelistic Ministry Team will have to specify a relatively narrow ministry field, and since it is assumed workers will still win people from outside of that field (at work, neighborhood, etc.), how will these new converts relate to the rest of the church? Since the group probably doesn't reflect their life situation, will you immediately encourage them to go through Welcome To Xenos and to a Grounding Group outside of your Evangelism Ministry Team? Or will you have an annual shake-down when people reevaluate their place in fellowship. Do you have a different plan?

17. How long would you like your first charter to run?

Six months to two years is common. At this time, the effectiveness of the Ministry Team will be evaluated and considered for continuation as it is or with modifications.

18. As a Ministry Team leader, you would have to prepare monthly progress reports on paper. Then you would meet with your supervisor and go over the reports. Will this be a problem for you?

• Self-explanatory [We have entrepreneurial leaders who resist cooperating with leadership. We want to manage their expectations early.]

19. As a Ministry Team leader, you will have an annual or semiannual review with your supervisor. Will this be a problem for you?

• Self-explanatory

20. Describe the polity of your Ministry Team: specifically how the co-leaders will interact with the Senior Leader in the decision-making process.

• Senior Leaders are not only the "contact person" for the department within which your ministry function, they also have certain decision-making authority. This is consistent with the fact that they are also accountable to the Elders for the function of the ministry. There may be certain types of issues that the Senior Leader should simply make on their own in order to save time and maximize efficiency. Other decisions may require full consultation with all the leaders. It may also be that you desire to have a system of appeal to potentially overturn certain decisions that the Senior Leader may make on his or her own. In this slot, describe how you see these types of issues working in your ministry. The process for all decision making should be spelled out in writing in order to avoid misunderstanding later. Be sure to go over your plans with any other leaders already working in the ministry.

Browse the Appendix documents

Go back to the Ministry Accreditation page

Go back to the Equipping page

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Contact the Equipping Division with questions or comments on ministry accreditation